Rose of Darkness
by TheDarkWoman
Summary: Obi--Wan and Qui-Gon go to a planet where they meet a blind princess. (lame summary, I know)


Disclaimer: Nothing belongs to me except the characters that you don't know. All to Lucas  
  
The Republic Cruiser landed softly on the planet Aranida. Obi-Wan looked out the window pondering the next mission. His master pulled back on the controls to stop the engine. Their mission would be a difficult one. They were to find the slayer of King Azaius. His daughter, Anea, had asked for Jedi help.  
  
Obi-Wan's brows were furrowed in deep thought. The details of the murder were, well, dumbfounding. The King had dropped dead in the middle of a meeting. The doctors saw no flaw in his health. No poison, no cuts or bruises, nothing. He was in perfect health besides the fact he was dead. Jedi were called in to stop this murderer. Then there was the fact that no one knew who the murderer was. No one has ever seen him let alone know who he was. Obi-Wan, even though he was only 14, knew that missions like these are very difficult.  
  
Qui-Gon unbuckled his seatbelt and got out of the cruiser. Obi-Wan followed suit. They were met by the ambassador, Ali Raa. Ali Raa was a witness at the murder. Obi-Wan saw the sorrow in the old man's face.  
  
"We thank the Jedi for coming. We dearly need your help." Ali said.  
  
"It is our honor. We will find the assassin." Qui-Gon said gravely. Ali led the way into the palace. Obi-Wan stood next to his master. They entered the Throne room. It was a lovely decorated room lavished with assortments of decorations. A man walked up in front of the main thrown and declared:  
  
"Princess Anea! Heir to King Azaius!"  
  
The princess marched from the back round. She was about Obi-Wan's age, with her hair a beautiful raven black. She had two gray streaks in her hair to symbolize wisdom. It was held up in a lose ponytai that slightly covered the side of her face. It gently touched her lower back. Her dress was all black, in mourning of her father; a veil was dangling from her face. Obi-Wan looked into her eyes through the veil. They were a striking blue. They were different...not focused. Then he realized it...she was blind! Obi-Wan looked at Qui-Gon if he noticed this. Qui-Gon nodded very slightly, so no one else would notice.  
  
She stood herself up strait and looked the direction of the Jedi. She held her hands out in a bowl form and said welcome. The Jedi did the same with their hands.  
"I thank you for coming." She began. "I hope you find the person who did this to my father. I want to know the truth."  
  
She paused to take a breath then began again, "As you can tell I am blind. Not able to see the horror of my own fathers death. Yet I must seek peace within myself. The only way I can do this is to face what caused this incident...the killer."  
  
Obi-Wan stood in wonder. She talked so elegantly, without flaw. Under such circumstances, he would expect her to be in seclusion. Or in a more grieving state. She began explaining the details.  
  
"As you may know, we have no clue to this...mystery. No evidence, no plot, nothing. But we forgot to tell you one thing; the Niu hates my father. The Niu is a cult. Trying to rid Aranida of Monarchy. It is a small cult but large enough to plan an ambush on the palace. We believe they are suspects."  
  
"But how do you think you father was killed then?" Qui-Gon asked.  
  
"That, Jedi, I do not know."  
"And these are the lovely gardens. The Princess tends to hang out around here. She tends to some of the flowers herself." Ali Raa said to Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon. "Even though she is blinded, she rarely asks for help. And if someone asks if she needs help, she neglects it."  
  
"Sounds like Tahl," Obi-Wan muttered to his master. Qui-Gon smiled.  
  
"Ambassador Raa," Qui-Gon said, "Shouldn't we get started?"  
  
"Oh, yes! Of course! Please, come with me...we are to meet with the Legal Councilors of Aranida in...oh, my...five minutes"  
  
Ali Raa rushed them to the Council room in the palace. When they arrived they were greeted with a warm welcome. They cupped their hands as the princess did. Obi-Wan noticed all of them were over 60 years of age and were all men. They had on maroon robes that flowed off the chairs they were sitting on. Two extra chairs were arranged in the room for the Jedi. The Jedi greeted the councilmen and sat down on the chairs.  
  
"We welcome the Jedi. For we have been worried about the princess' safety." Began one of the eldest councilmen. "If her father was in danger than we believe that she must be as well. We need to find the culprit. Our people are in danger."  
  
"What do the people have to say about this?" Qui-Gon asked.  
  
"They do not know yet." Said the same councilmen. "If news gets out, the people will think the monarchy is weak. That we do not know how to protect them."  
  
"But isn't that a dangerous? If they find out what has happened to their king, they will certainly be even angrier than if you had told them," said Obi-Wan.  
  
"We took this into consideration," said another councilman, "but we voted against it because we are hoping this information will be kept safe." He replied  
  
"Does the princess know this?" Qui-Gon asked.  
  
"Princess Anea is...young. There are certain things at her age that she should not know. I suggest you keep quiet." The councilman answered.  
  
This disturbed Qui-Gon. This information could put the princess in greater danger than she already was. All he could do was keep quiet anyway, because there was nothing he could do.  
  
"Well, we'll have to inform you further tomorrow, because the princess must be present to give you orders and such. I suggest you get some rest...you've come a long way."  
* * *  
The Jedi were led back to their rooms. Qui-Gon permitted Obi-Wan to wander around the palace. Obi-Wan was glad to have been able. He tended to get bored in confined spaces.  
  
He ambled around the palace until he reached the gardens. He heard someone gently singing a song. To see who it was, he slowly advanced toward the lovely voice. To his surprise it was none other than the princess herself. She turned her head around to face Obi-Wan.  
  
"Your highness, what are you doing here?" Obi-Wan asked. He knew the princess liked to tend to the gardens, but under the circumstances, she would be with a bodyguard or something.   
  
"I have my reasons." Princess Anea said with a grin, "Just tending to the roses. Anything wrong with that."  
  
"Not at all, Princess." Obi-Wan said.  
  
Obi-Wan grazed his eyes on the roses, and spotted one odd one in particular. It was black, and has disarranged thorns all around it's stem. It was situated by itself, in a far corner. Lonesome, but beautiful. Beautiful, but strong.   
  
"A rose that caught your eye." The princess prodded.  
  
"Yes that black one." He said, then quickly realizing his error, "Oh Princess, I'm so sorry."  
  
"I don't mind. Did you say a 'black' rose?" She replied quickly, "If I'm not mistaken, black roses don't show up very often. Once every millennium I believe. In our native tongue, we call them 'Gani dre' Toka' or in Basic 'Rose of Darkness."  
  
"It looks...lonely. As if it feels it doesn't belong. But it looks strong, in a way. Do you understand what I mean?" Obi-Wan said in wonder.  
  
"Kind of like myself." The princess breathed. "I feel lonely at times. Being blind creates a sort of void. Not being able to see anyone, or anything. It is like being trapped in a world of darkness. Yet I know I must be strong. That is how I must present myself to my people."  
  
Just then, Obi-Wan was contacted by his master to meet him at the council room. He left the princess who lingered near the flower.  
  
  



End file.
